'Israeli' army attacks 'NAZA' film claims in new statement

• The 'Israeli' army claimed that target selection and strike authorizations are conducted solely by human intelligence officers.
• They rejected claims that it approves fixed civilian casualty quotas or plans attacks expecting hundreds of civilian deaths.
• Anonymous 'Israeli' military personnel interviewed in the film cite "mass killing on an industrial scale."

‘Israeli’ military published a statement on Thursday defending its operational protocols and rejecting the findings of the documentary NAZA, which accuses ‘Israeli’ forces of committing war crimes and intentionally targeting civilians in the Gaza Strip using automated intelligence tools.

The response was issued after a military representative attended a public screening of the film, with the army alleging that directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor didn't provide an advance copy or request official comment prior to its premiere.

In its statement, the military denied the film's portrayals, claiming that “the film's narrative is based on substantial factual errors stemming from a misrepresented and manipulative depiction of reality.”

Addressing claims regarding artificial intelligence, the army denied that systems like "Lavender" operate autonomously. 

“Artificial intelligence has never independently selected targets to strike. Target identification is carried out exclusively by qualified and authorized intelligence officers, while operational commanders make decisions on striking targets,” the statement noted.

The ‘Israeli’ military also rejected claims that it approves fixed civilian casualty quotas or plans attacks expecting hundreds of civilian deaths, maintaining that “harm to Gaza's Palestinian population was never their purpose. The IDF issued warnings, cancelled strikes, facilitated humanitarian aid and took many other steps to prevent civilian harm.”

The film, produced in collaboration with The Guardian and secretly shot over three years, received the Special Jury Prize and a 25-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival. 

Its title, NAZA, refers to an acronym used by ‘Israeli’ military intelligence regarding expected civilian casualties in an airstrike. Accepting the award, Abraham cited a concerted smear campaign aimed at suppressing the documentary in 'Israel', while the military countered that “the film falsely portrays a military that seeks to cause civilian harm.”

Shot at night on rooftops in Tel Aviv, the film features interviews conducted under strict anonymity, with the subjects’ appearances and voices digitally altered. 

In the documentary, interviewees describe AI-assisted targeting systems, mass phone surveillance, and a practice of striking family homes once a designated target returns, knowing family members, including children, would also be killed. 

One officer speaks of “mass killing on an industrial scale,” while another notes that phrases overheard on a child’s phone, such as “daddy’s home,” could trigger an airstrike.

“Our film is showing that the basic targeting unit of the Israeli targeting systems is a family home in Gaza,” Abraham said. “That’s how it operates. Every building in Gaza, every home in Gaza has a number. The system is designed to locate targets. When they are in civilian spaces, when they go back home, that is one of, for me, one of the most striking revelations of the film.”